


carry me with you wherever you go

by brickmaster



Series: A beautiful stone that glistens in the sun. It has little value. [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Developing Relationship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Pining, of a sort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:01:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21881962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brickmaster/pseuds/brickmaster
Summary: Sora runs his fingers over his newest treasure, battle hardened calluses catching on its surface. It’s another token, another road marker in the long winding road of their relationship. It’s another piece of Riku entrusted tohim.(aka the pretty stones fic)
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: A beautiful stone that glistens in the sun. It has little value. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1627525
Comments: 12
Kudos: 125





	carry me with you wherever you go

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays Claudia, [@hearts_in_tune](https://twitter.com/hearts_in_tune)!!!! I hope you enjoy this little gift fic <333
> 
> I have taken liberties with canon and I couldn't care less.

The crown necklace thumps heavily against his small chest as he chases Riku across the white sand of the play island, the ground shifting beneath his feet, granules in between his toes. The slap of his sandals is loud but not loud enough to drown out Riku’s whoop of joy as he skids across their makeshift driftwood finish line.

“Aw, man!” Sora shouts, sprinting across the finish line and sprawling on the ground with a dramatic _oof_. The sand is warm against his back, almost uncomfortably so through his thin shirt, and he focuses his attention up at the sky instead of his friend. He squints at the bright expanse of blue peeking through the palm fronds—bangs sticking to his sweaty forehead—and petulantly swipes his forearm across the damp skin. 

“I win!” Riku appears overhead, blocking out the afternoon sun with a satisfied little smirk on his face and Sora pouts up at him. His hands are on his hips and his round cheeks are flushed pink beneath his bright green eyes as he croons down at Sora, “That means _I_ get to be the knight.”

Sora sighs, the exhalation so long he can feel it on his bare toes, “I _know_.”

Riku extends a hand, skin almost as pale as the white sand beneath them, and Sora takes it immediately. He’s pulled to his feet, stumbling slightly but Riku steadies him, their hands still clasped between them. Sora’s hand is darker than Riku’s and painted with freckles but it’s just as patched and mended with brightly colored band-aids. Their adventures are etched into their very skin and Sora can’t help but smile toothily down at their hands, all traces of irritation gone. 

He hears a small hum and glances up at Riku to find him already looking back, chewing on his lip, cheeks still pink from the race. The sunlight shines off of his silver hair, eyes green and bright beneath his pale lashes, and Sora thinks he’s far too pretty to be a knight but fair is fair. 

He turns to start their trek back to the starting line where their swords are, hand sliding from Riku’s but he’s pulled to a stop. Sora looks over his shoulder, head cocked as he watches Riku fumble his other hand into his pants pocket. It takes a few tries before it seems he’s finally found what he’s looking for because his arm stops moving and the peeks at Sora through his bangs. 

There’s a short huff and then Sora’s hand is rotated palm up and Riku moves lightning quick to deposit whatever was in his pocket. 

“For your crown, maybe...” Riku yanks his hands away, shoves them in his pockets, and Sora’s colder without them. The light catches on the object in his palm and his eyes follow it’s plea for attention. 

It’s a stone: irregularly shaped but smooth, shades of green and blue across it’s semi transparent surface with a strip of bright white and flecks of gold. It’s warm in his palm—heavy despite its small size—and he tilts his hand this way and that until it gleams again. 

It’s a _pretty_ stone. 

Green and blue and bright like Riku’s eyes. When he presses his curled fist to his chest it brings the same warmth that his crown pendant does.

“I love it,” Sora chirps happily and looks up at Riku who’s face flares even brighter. Fingers curled tightly around the stone, his heart feels weightless, “Thank you, Sir Riku!”

Riku’s eyes snap to his and a wide grin overlaps his pinkened cheeks easily. The warmth in Sora’s chest flares at the sight and he safely tucks the stone in his pocket—patting the material for good measure—before taking Riku’s hand once more. 

“Come on! You need a sword to protect your prince!”

Riku stumbles after him—tethered by Sora’s palm—and they take off down the beach, sand flying in their wake.

~+~

It’s the end of the line. The end of _all worlds_ to be exact.

He’s followed Riku to this place to try to save him, to bring him home. The longer they’re here the less it seems Sora will be able to find his _own way_ back. They’re getting closer and closer to the end and he doesn’t know how to feel about the small stone shining up at him at the edge of oblivion. 

It’s a pretty stone. 

It’s from Riku. 

There’s no rhyme or reason as to why he knows this but it rings clear and true in his heart. This pretty stone is from Riku and it was waiting for him at the end of all worlds in a _treasure chest_ of all things. It’s difficult to bring the stone into focus through the tears blurring his vision and he wipes his face roughly on his arm to clear them. 

In his palm is a small, perfectly round stone, pitch black in appearance against the material of his gloves. He picks it up delicately between his thumb and forefinger and lifts it higher to better see it. Exposed to the strange light of this world, the stone reveals a multitude of colors shining through inky black, a rainbow in the palm of his hand. 

Sora swallows heavily; he feels like the stone is caught in his throat as a fresh onset of tears swells and the stone dissolves into streaks of yellow and blue and black behind his eyelashes. 

How could he not have seen the hurt Riku carried? How did they drift so far from each other in every way?

Riku is his best friend. Always was and always _will be_. 

No matter what, Sora was going to find Riku and they were going _home_. They were going to have a long discussion that would likely result in pitched voices and tears but they were finally going to talk about whatever it was that led them to _this_. Looking at the stone, a rainbow—light—present even in this deepest darkness, Sora thinks that there must still be hope for them. 

Donald and Goofy call his name from further off and he releases his shaking, hitching breaths into the stillness. They are going to be okay. _Riku_ is going to be okay. He has to believe it. He carefully slides his hand into his pocket and deposits the stone alongside the agate he’s carried around since he was a child. 

When it’s not gripping the keyblade, Sora keeps his hand clenched tightly around the stone and wishes with all his heart that this isn’t goodbye.

~+~

Sora’s forgetting things.

He’s forgetting _a lot_ of things as they make their way deeper and deeper into the castle. It’s hard to remember how they got here or whom they’re searching for or why they need to lose more and more pieces of themselves to this place. 

There’s a pendant with a little crown around his neck that seems to get heavier the longer they’re here. His chest warms when he holds it in his palm, the tips digging comfortingly into his skin, but he can’t remember _why_ he feels this way. There’s an equal heaviness to his jacket pocket where two small, pretty stones reside. He’s taken to holding them when their party settles down to rest. 

There’s no cycle of day or night in this place—the halls are perpetually, _blindingly_ bright—so they’ve taken to camping when they can’t drag themselves any further. Their brightly colored tents pitched in the vast marble hallways seem alien but the longer they’re here, the more Sora comes to appreciate the things so undeniably _them_. The stones are the same—something specific to _Sora_ amidst all this sterile, unforgiving space. 

Sora hasn’t shown Donald or Goofy the stones and they haven’t asked, even as his hand drifts more and more frequently to his pocket. Jiminy’s the only one who knows about the stones. He caught Sora cradling them one night with the utmost care—thumb gently sweeping across their surface—but even he can’t recall their meaning. And isn’t _that_ terrifying, their record keeper unable to remember... 

Sora doesn’t know why he has them or what purpose they serve but his heart _aches_ when he pulls them from his pocket. It’s one of the few constants in this place so he keeps them safe, keeps them _close_. 

Sora’s forgetting things... but his heart remembers.

~+~

Sora wakes up.

It’s discomfiting to not remember how you got to where you are now but the anxiety of the unknown is set aside for the immediate joy of seeing Donald and Goofy’s faces. He tries to remember where they are and how they got here but it’s all coming up blank. 

His body is a chorus of popping and shaking limbs as he stretches and yawns. Everything’s so strange. Even stranger is how long they’ve seemingly been asleep. Sora doesn’t have to look up as much to meet Goofy’s eyes anymore and Donald—much to his very _vocal_ displeasure—seems even smaller. His clothes are awkwardly restrictive and silly looking on his suddenly longer and leaner frame but he feels fine. Great, even. He takes inventory just in case though: he wiggles his fingers and toes and rolls his neck only to stop when he feels the necklace move with him. Before the thought can even fully form his hand is reaching for the pocket of his too short jacket, slipping inside to feel the smooth surface of two stones inside. 

_At least some things never change._

Donald and Goofy have moved toward the doorway and are discussing something no doubt important but they wave Sora off with the suggestion that he take a little walk around the pod to get a better feel for his new body. He takes them up on the idea with a grin, one hand still idly rolling the stones around in his pocket as he starts a lap around the pod. 

His sneakers, still overly large despite the sudden growth spurt, squeak slightly in the quiet of the room. The space is bright white and instills a level of anxiety in him that he’s never felt before in his life. It’s a sterile, unforgiving space and the longer he’s in here the more uncomfortable he’s becoming. He keeps glancing over his shoulder at his companions to ensure they haven’t forgotten him— _and where is_ that _thought coming from?_ —and his attention is so divided he nearly stumbles into a small chair and console near the base of the pod. 

It’s small. So small Sora has trouble arranging his legs on either side of the console, but he eventually fits. He’s never been adept with technology but he figures it’s worth a shot if it means getting some answers so he drums his fingers on the screen and it flickers to life. He makes a few cursory taps but nothing new happens. He’s left with charts and graphs and an array of numbers flashing across the screen which he can’t make heads or tails of. He’s about to push himself from the small chair when something catches his eye. 

Resting on the narrow ledge along the bottom of the screen is a pretty stone.

It’s a translucent gold and catches the light even when he scoops it into his trembling hands and presses it to his chest. The sight of it, the weight of it, dissipates the anxiety itching across his skin entirely. 

_Riku… you were here…_  
He’s positive it’s a figment of his imagination but the stone feels _warm_ in his palm, as if imbued with sunlight or… the heat of someone’s hand. Maybe… maybe Riku’s still _here_.

The thought gets him moving, his knees bashing painfully into the console as he scrambles to his feet. He shoves his hand into his pocket, depositing the stone with the others as he hurries over to Donald and Goofy. 

_Please, just wait a little longer Riku…_

~+~

_“Maybe everything we’ve done… maybe it was all for nothing.”_

The words ring in his ears as he stares listlessly into the darkness surrounding them. Everything they’ve done was a _waste_. Every time he defeated a heartless and freed another lost heart it was a boon for their _enemy_. They’ve unwittingly aided the Organization and in turn hurt the very worlds they’ve been trying to save. He bounces his head harshly off the ground, tears of frustration bubbling beneath the surface.

Surrounded by darkness, Sora thinks he should feel scared but all he feels is numb. There’s a buzzing in his ears and it sounds like every swing that didn’t land, every spell that didn’t hit, every strike he wasn’t fast enough—wasn’t _good enough_ —to block. He’s been all over the universe—saved it, supposedly—and yet he’s right back where he started. 

Kairi is in danger and Riku is nowhere to be found—beyond his reach _again_. 

It’s like all that fighting, all that heartache, all that loss for two years was for _nothing_. He’s right back where he started and he half expects to blink awake to Pluto licking his face in that Traverse Town alley. 

The others are shuffling awake by his feet and Sora closes his eyes and collects himself, scrunches his face up and steadily releases the tension until the shadow of a smile is all that’s left. This is his dilemma to deal with, Donald and Goofy don’t need anything else on their plat—

Donald’s squawk startles Sora into sitting up so quickly his head spins. Donald and Goofy point behind Sora and he whips around to see a tall figure in a black coa—the Organization’s coat—standing several feet away with his arm out, a small white box held aloft. Sora jumps to his feet, fingers curling in preparation for the keyblade’s weight before he remembers—remembers he _can’t use it_ —and he shapes it into a fist instead. 

Each step has his hand curling tighter, all the anger and frustration and heartache coming to a boil in his chest but he skids to a stop as the stranger disappears and leaves the box in their wake. Adrenaline is still flooding his system and every breath is deafening in his ears as he crouches to inspect the box. 

It’s small and white and seemingly safe. 

Their enemies aren’t above cheap tricks though so Sora taps the side of the box with his finger gently. There’s no response. Donald and Goofy weren’t far behind him in rushing the enemy and they lean over his shoulder to take a closer look. Huffing, Sora taps it again with more force, scooting it across the ground slightly. Donald sighs loudly in his ear and Sora taps it three times in quick succession. Still no response. He moves to—

“Sora!” Donald screeches and he flinches at the sound, at the chill that’s blanketing his body as the adrenaline seeps away completely. Despite the reprimand he can feel Donald’s hand on his shoulder, Goofy mirroring the gesture on his other side. Bolstered by their support, Sora tentatively flips the lid of the box open. 

There’s a photograph of the kids he met in Twilight Town, a popsicle stick, and a stone. His fingers are shaking as he scoops up the stone and hands the box over to Donald. His companions are discussing the rest of the contents but nothing else matters in that moment than what’s cradled in his hands. It’s black, speckled with gray and white and in the darkness of this place it looks like he’s got a handful of stars in his palm. It’s a pretty stone. 

The realization makes him dizzy and he falls out of his crouch as all the strength in his legs abandons him. Riku is _alive_ , was right in front of him, so close that Sora could have reached out and touched him. Glancing at the photo Goofy’s holding in his hand he notices a fourth person, someone they hadn’t met while in Twilight Town. Sora’s heart twists and there’s a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that he knows that person, knows their face. He can’t remember who they are but he’s going to find out. 

The stone rolls across his fingers as he moves to stand and he smiles at the tiny pinpricks of white across the black surface, like the night sky of the islands. _You’re always looking out for me, huh?_ Sora thinks, cupping the stone in his palm. 

His back is turned to the others and he figures they wouldn’t notice or care anyway but he’d like to avoid the teasing if possible. He discreetly brings his hand up to his mouth, ghosts a kiss across the stone before shoving it in his pocket. His cheeks burn hotly in the darkness and he bites his lip to rein in the wild smile that threatens to break out. Riku was here, he was right _here…_

Sora starts making his way to Donald and Goofy, shoulders loosening at the grins they give him, the easy way they throw their arms around him in a huddle as they discuss their next step. He’s still unsure what to do about the keyblade but he knows they’ll figure something out. They always _do_. Right now they have a question that needs answering and Riku’s given them the tools—given Sora the strength—to find it.

~+~

They are bathed in the light of Kingdom Hearts, on the precipice of a battle that will determine the fate of the entire universe, and Sora has never been happier.

The others are talking quietly around them, checking equipment and passing around potions for the oncoming fight. Kairi meets his eyes and she grins. He returns it easily but he can see something flicker across her expression and he doesn’t know what it means. 

Like so many things, it will have to wait.

He’s relieved that she’s safe, happy to see her after so much time and distance apart, but it’s an ember compared to the inferno in his chest upon reuniting with Riku.They stand side by side, finally, here at the end. Riku’s face is tilted up at the sky and Sora can barely catch his breath. 

They’ve only been reunited for a handful of hours but Sora feels more like himself than he has in years. Riku’s different, they both are, but the barely there smile Sora’s given as he turns to face him settles as warmly in his heart as it ever has. The light gilds Riku’s face, sets his hair alight and Sora takes a moment to drink in all the little changes he’s missed. 

Riku’s hair is longer now, down his back, and it _hurts_ to have something so tangible to mark their time apart. Sora’s always liked Riku’s hair and he remembers running his fingers through it when they were younger—how it flowed over his hands like water. It’s harder to see his eyes now, too obscured behind long fringe, and Sora’s fingers twitch with the compulsion to reach up and brush them aside. 

“Sora?”

He’s also taller, _a lot_ taller, and Sora’s cheeks heat when he has to tilt his head back slightly to meet his eyes, “Y-Yeah?”

Riku’s mouth opens and closes, brows furrowing slightly behind his bangs. Sora’s heart twists, his feet carrying him forward automatically until the toes of their shoes bump. Riku’s eyes dart down to their feet and Sora’s belly swoops at the little smirk that flirts across Riku’s mouth.

“I was hoping your clown shoes would be something you grew out of but some things never change, huh?” 

Sora squawks, pushes a laughing Riku away by the shoulders. Riku stumbles back, smile wide on his face and eyes bright and Sora’s belly must be a gymnast at this point with all flipping it’s doing. He plants his shaking hands on his hips and hopes the grin stretching his face is enough to distract from the flush on his cheeks. “Oh yeah? I was hoping you would learn what _sleeves_ are!”

Riku snorts, seemingly surprised at his own reaction as he covers his mouth with his hand, cheeks red. Sora’s heart is light and buoyant at his friend’s smile, his laugh, and he can feel the way his face softens at the sight. 

They come back together, shoulders still shaking slightly, until their toes bump.

“I wanted to say… thank you, for looking. Even when I didn’t want to be found... you never gave up on me,” Riku’s voice is quiet, warm in the space between them and Sora wants to push those bangs aside now more than ever. Riku’s eyes are fixed to the stark white and gray floor peeking out from either side of their feet and his hands are clenched tightly at his sides, the line of tension settling heavily in his shoulders. 

He nudges Riku’s shoe with his own until his head lifts and their eyes meet. Smiling, Sora slides his hand into his jacket pocket, curls it carefully around the precious contents and pulls them out. Despite the minute trembling of his arm he keeps his hand palm up between them, three pretty stones gleaming. Riku’s mouth parts, hands jerking at his side and he looks at Sora imploringly.

“You never gave up on me either,”Sora says, face hot and ears practically steaming with the force of his flush but he refuses to look away. He refuses to let Riku see anything except his gratitude and his happiness at being together again. Riku’s next exhale sounds like Sora’s name but it’s drowned out by the sound of the others approaching and he glances over Sora’s head briefly before staring into Sora’s eyes. The intensity leaves Sora gaping up at him, hand still bridging the divide and he feels Riku’s hand ghosting over his own before he sees it. 

“Huh?” 

There are four stones in his palm now. The newest addition is dark, black and gray but lustrous in the light of Kingdom Hearts. It seems comprised of jagged, sharp edges but it feels comfortingly heavy in his palm. It’s nothing like the other stones he has but that makes it all the more special. Riku didn’t leave this for him to find, he gave it freely while at his side. 

Riku is _here_. 

Sora runs his fingers over his newest treasure, battle hardened calluses catching on its surface. It’s another token, another road marker in the long winding road of their relationship. It’s another piece of Riku entrusted to _him_. He curls his fingers inwards, feels the stones shift to accommodate him, and his eyes are bouncing between Riku’s but he can practically feel the others breath on the back of his neck now and there’s never enough _time_ to say how he—

“For your crown, maybe…” Riku’s smile is achingly soft and there’s something in his eyes that seems tethered to the feeling in Sora’s chest but Riku’s already moving past him to regroup with the others. The stones are held tightly in his grip but he swears he can hear them rattling from the trembling of his hand. He focuses on his breathing, hopes it will rein in his runaway pulse, and gently deposits the stones into his pocket. 

He turns to follow, catches Riku’s eyes as he speaks with Mickey and his hand drifts. Riku seems to notice and ducks his head, the tiniest twitch at the corner of his mouth the only giveaway. Sora’s about to walk over, to finish what’s obviously been started here at the finish line of all things but Donald and Goofy intercept him. 

Another time, another place then. 

There are four pretty stones in his pocket and he feels weightless.

~+~

Sora looks away from the King—no, just Mickey here—as his heart conducts a symphony in his chest, in the very world itself.

There’s two pieces of sheet music above their heads, twirling in the air and dancing around each other to the tune resounding from his heart. His and _Riku’s_ hearts to be specific. It’s a bombastic display of sound and color but all Sora feels is a warmth radiating from his heart to the tips of his toes like he’s swallowed a shooting star. 

They saved the world, returned home, but they never talked. Not like Sora wanted to, _meant_ to, anyway. 

That day on the play islands was the closest he’d come to putting words to the beat of his heart, the color in his cheeks. Riku washed in the colors of the setting sun, smile soft and laughter even softer as he tapped Sora’s chest. He remembers smiling, warmth and happiness and light on the very tip of his tongue until Kairi came calling with a message from the King. 

He wonders, piano and violin blending seamlessly together and reverberating in his chest, if this is what it would have felt like if he’d told Riku that day. Watching the notes jump from the sheet music itself and twirl and dip around each other, he thinks that Riku might feel the same. 

The thought rings as true in his heart as the song does. 

Their work in this sleeping world is done, another keyhole unlocked. He says his goodbyes to Mickey and turns to leave Yen Sid’s office when something catches his eye. It was a small glimmer in the strange light of the tower but after so many years, Sora’s heart leads him to it’s counterpart without thinking. On the music stand where his sound idea originated, is a small stone. 

The stone is segmented into shades of pale blue and white. It’s irregularly shaped and Sora flips it over and over in his palm, watches it catch the light of their song overhead. In fact, the colors of the pretty stone almost mimic the other sound idea floating overhead—Riku’s sound idea. 

He walks over to the window shaped like a crescent moon and holds the stone up between two fingers. It nearly blends in with the eternal night sky beyond the tower and he can feel his pulse in his fingertips. A gift from Riku. He knows it without a doubt, like always, and he laughs softly as it seems to twinkle like the swath of stars beyond the tower. 

It’s pretty, like this world, like their song, like _Riku_. 

He wonders if Riku had this on him before the exam or if it’s native to this world. He hopes, with all his heart, that it follows him out of the dream.

~+~

Sora is on his hands and knees, tears streaming down his face as the entirety of his family and friends get swept away by the demon tide. It’s a pulsating mass of dark energy, hissing and clawing its way through the sky, and it consumes all of Sora’s senses as completely as his grief has. His arms tremble with the force of his sobs, the despair dancing across his spine is unbearably heavy, and all he feels like doing at that moment is collapsing in on himself.

Riku’s at his side, his knee digging into the same sun scorched earth and Sora feels more helpless—more _hopeless_ —than he’s ever felt in his life. In the corner of his eye there’s a flicker of movement by his hand and then Riku’s standing. 

“Sora, you don’t believe that. I know you don’t.”

The words don’t register, not fully, and neither does the steady footsteps marching across the wasteland. His tears are coating the ground between his palms and he tries to blink them away, tries to see where Riku’s going ( _without him_ ). As he raises his head he sees something next to his hand. It’s pale pink, translucent, jagged in structure but it’s pretty nevertheless. A pretty stone. 

He skates his trembling fingers across the dusty earth and covers the stone with his hand, heart fluttering wildly at the heat that lingers there even as Riku moves further away. Every footfall knocks the breath out of him as Riku approaches the demon tide, shoulders squared and sure. He lifts Braveheart above his head, easy as anything, as he readies his blade to drive forward in a piercing strike. 

Riku’s a supernova, a nexus for all color and light in the universe as he single handedly beats back the end of everything. Sora gasps, eyes tearing up even further from the influx of light and he blinks hurriedly to clear his vision so that he can see, can see Riku in all his brilliance. Pulsating streams of purple and pink and bright white stream from Braveheart on all sides but it’s not enough. Even as Riku’s boots dig in, a scream tearing from his throat as he presses Braveheart further into the void swallowing him whole, it’s not enough. 

“Riku!” 

Sora’s reaches out; he tries, wishes, hopes that he can grasp Riku in his hand as easily as the stone. 

When Riku’s enveloped completely by darkness, Sora holds the pink stone tightly to his chest and waits. He can feel the edges of the crown necklace against his knuckles, knees numb against the earth, and his eyes never leave the spot where Riku fell even when the tide comes.

~+~

The world is reset, everyone lost has been found, and they forget _everything_.

 _Sora_ forgets everything... but his heart remembers.

~+~

Riku’s been back on the islands for a couple of months now though he’s not sure how long to be exact (167 days). Every day is the same. He wakes with the dawn, grabs something—anything—to eat to give him the energy to paddle out to the play islands and back. The path he takes is the same: down the dock and across the shore, through the small shack and up to the paopu islet. Everyday he has traveled to their childhood playground, trekked to the paopu tree, and placed a pretty stone on the trunk. And everyday, without fail, the stone disappears.

The first handful of times Riku had chalked it up to kids or the wind knocking it off its perch. These theories were quickly debunked by the fact that since the islands fell, parents refused to allow their children to go to the play islands thinking it cursed. As for the wind, Riku had searched all along the base of the trunk for the stones with no success. Despite their vanishing act, he’s made it a tradition—a marker for every day Sora’s absent from the world. 

Today, the sun has barely crested the horizon as he makes his way over to the crooked trunk of the tree, hand reaching in his pocket for today’s pretty stone. Despite everyone else's wavering belief, _he_ believes in Sora. Believes that he’s out there in the universe… somewhere. 

Maybe it’s naivety or delusion but he knows with every ounce of his being that he would _know_ if Sora was truly gone. They’re holding on to a little part of each other, always have, always will. That’s not to say that his heart doesn’t beat differently, doesn’t ache without Sora by his side. But he knows that no matter the distance, they will always find their way back to one another. 

He makes his way to the tree, fingers curling around today’s offering. It’s a small piece of jade he’d found years ago while in the Land of Dragons. He’d tried to slip it into Sora’s pocket when they fought side by side on the mountain but he’d been so happy, so overwhelmed at being near him again that it completely slipped his mind. 

_Better late than never, huh, Sora?_

He smiles softly and pulls the stone from his pocket, thumbs across it’s shiny surface before reaching out to deposit it on the worn down patches of the trunk. The sunrise shimmers across the gently rolling waves and casts the islands in pinks and purples and it’s because of this wash of color the new day brings that he almost misses it. 

A pale pink translucent stone with jagged edges, suffused with light, rests on the paopu tree. 

He reaches out, waits for it to vanish but it doesn’t, merely fits into the palm of his hand like it belongs there. It’s a piece of kunzite, a stone of divine love. He _knows_ because he’s carried a piece around in his pocket for years now. He cups it in his palm and brings it to his chest, imagines the beat of his heart resonating in the stone itself. The piece of kunzite, like the one in his pocket, is a question and an answer. When he closes his eyes, sunlight painting the back of his eyelids white, he can almost hear a symphony.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk soriku with me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/brickmaster_p)!!
> 
> The meaning of each stone, in order of appearance:
> 
> Moss Agate - Moss Agate is a stone that supports you to have a deep spiritual connection with the Earth that gives you an abiding sense of wholeness, belonging, and having abundance as your birthright.
> 
> Rainbow Obsidian - Rainbow Obsidian helps one take the journey to the root cause of emotional distress in order to resolve it. It acts by being a bridge to bring Light into wounded and dark places, allowing them to heal. 
> 
> Amber - Amber carries the energy of the sun, warmth, and wellbeing. It is nurturing and good for people recovering from illness or who are needing comfort. It can transmute negative or stagnate energies into positive energy like a sunny day lifts the spirits. In this way it can be protective, letting you carry around a bubble of sunshine wherever you go.
> 
> Snowflake Obsidian - When you are feeling hopeless, snowflake obsidian can help you regain your courage to persevere, and help you see opportunities you may have overlooked to improve your situation. If you are struggling with a very difficult time in your life, snowflake obsidian can help you find that “light in the darkness”. It can give you the determination to find your way through and triumph over obstacles.
> 
> Shungite - Shungite is known for purification, grounding, and protection. The combination of grounding and purifying makes it a steady and protective guide for doing deeper emotional work. As you dig into past experiences and buried emotions that make up your shadow, shungite helps transmute these energies into light energy.
> 
> Blue Lace Agate - Helps you articulate your thoughts in a way others can understand. It is ideal for situations where you know you must speak up and may not feel confident that you can find the right words. It helps you find the words that ring truest and therefore pierce to the heart of your listener.
> 
> Kunzite - Kunzite is the stone of Divine Love–love that is unalterable, unquestionable, unshakable, from the highest frequencies–and it activates that resonance of love within you.
> 
> *Bonus*
> 
> Jade - Green jade carries the energy of the Earth and nature, providing a wholesome, nurturing energy that uplifts and soothes the heart.
> 
> [This is](https://beadage.net/gemstones/) the resource I used for the gemstone meanings so forgive me if they're wrong! Thank you so much for reading!


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